Page 3 of Only Forever

The living room was full of people drinking and chatting, and an impromptu dance floor had been made in the center of the room, where a few couples were swaying together, despite the song currently playing being upbeat.

“C’mon,” Chloe said, grabbing my arm. “I see Monica and Tracy in the kitchen.”

“Hi,” I said enthusiastically, giving Monica and Tracy a quick hug. Chloe followed suit. We had all become friends freshman year, when we were in the same group for a history project, and we had all hit it off. Monica was a tall willowy blonde that was super shy but hilarious when you got to know her. Tracy was a boisterous brunette who had a tendency to say things before thinking. I had always thought of them as another version of me and Chloe—opposites but best friends. I was grateful I had found such a great friend group, as high school could be a lonely place.

Chloe filled a cup of beer from the keg next to us for herself. “How long have you guys been here?”

“Just a few minutes,” Monica replied, peering behind her to look at the crowd in the living room. “I didn’t think there’d be so many people here already.”

I threw her a sympathetic look. She likely had been dragged to the party by Tracy.

“There’s actually a ton of people from Darrenston College, since Dan’s older brother is a junior there,” Tracy said. She leaned in closer, lowering her voice. “Anda lotof hot guys.Collegeguys.”

I laughed at her lascivious expression. Tracy was the biggest flirt I knew, and with her pretty, fresh-faced girl-next-door looks, she always had a long line of willing suitors.

“Who are you eyeing?” Chloe asked conspiratorially, not so inconspicuously scanning the people in the room. Her eyes stopped at a stocky blond talking to another guy. She motioned her head towards him. “I call dibs on that blond guy!”

I shared an amused look with Monica. Tracy and Chloe were two of a kind when it came to boys.

“Oh my God,” Tracy gasped. “He’s talking to the guyIwas interested in.” She beamed at Chloe. “It’s meant to be!”

“Okay, Thelma and Louise,” I joked. “Why don’t you two make your way over there. Monica and I will hang here.”

Chloe and Tracy almost had no fear when it came to boys, and I knew they wouldn’t hesitate to approach them. We watched them head over to them, and before I knew it, the four of them were engaged in an enthusiastic conversation together. I really didn’t know why Chloe always wanted me to go to parties with her, when she was fine on her own. I had a feeling she thought she was helping me by making sure I didn’t miss out on any fun, despite me continually telling her that parties weren’t my idea of fun.

Monica and I hung out for a while together, until she had to go to the bathroom. I made my way to the living room to wait for her and spotted an empty armchair. I made a beeline to it and gratefully sunk into it.

I pulled out my phone and started mindlessly scrolling, when I heard a voice above me.

“Hey, Daphne.”

I looked up to find Jason standing over me, his blue eyes focused on me.

“Hi,” I said, sounding more breathless than I liked. I wondered what was wrong with me. This was just Jason. I had let Chloe’s earlier comments get to me.

“Good to see you,” he continued. “I didn’t think you’d come tonight.”

“Yeah, well, you know Chloe. She’s always dragging me to places for ‘my own good.’”

Jason smiled, and I was taken aback by how handsome that made him look. What was wrong with me, for goodness sake?? I needed to get control of my hormones.

Instead of getting my hormones under control, they ran even more amuck when he settled himself on the arm of my chair. He was much closer than I was used to, since most of our interactions had been limited to just greeting each other in passing in the hallways of school.

“I’m glad she did,” he said. “It’s been ages since we’ve been able to talk.”

I nodded, although I was confused. Since when did we have conversations? We made cordial greetings, at most. Sometimes a quick “how are you?” but that was about it. I told myself to pull myself together and act normally.

“How have you been?” I asked, trying to sound casual. “How’s lacrosse going?”

Jason shrugged, taking a sip of his drink before answering. “It’s fine. It’s just a way to kill time while waiting for senior year to be over. I can’t wait to go to college next year.”

I would have thought Jason would want to relish high school, seeing as he was basically the king of Sherman High. But I also knew he was never someone who put much weight into popularity and being part of the in crowd.

“Where are you hoping to go?” I asked.

“I’d be happy with a lot of places,” Jason answered, “but my number one pick is the University of Chicago.”

“That would be awesome,” I said. “I’m sure you’ll get in. Do you know what your major is going to be?”

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